I was visiting family in China earlier this month. One afternoon, my sister-in-law hosted afternoon tea for several of us in the family.
It wasn’t just tea. It felt like a beautiful ritual.
We talked about tea leaves and tea trees—their lineage, their character, how some grow in wild, hard-to-reach places and produce something rare and nuanced, shaped by climate and terrain. Much like grapes and fine wine. Much like people, really.
And for the first time, I felt the spirit of tea.
Not the tea bag I usually toss into a mug in a busy day for its health benefits—but something deeper. There was a rhythm, a presence, a quiet harmony that settled over us. No one announced it. It just… arrived. As if the ritual created space for something more to emerge.
Someone said, half-jokingly, that in a truly good tea session, a tea fairy might appear. Sitting there, breathing in the warm steam, laughing with my family, feeling a soft sense of togetherness—I wondered if she had.
And the host of it all? My sister-in-law. She didn’t say much. She simply brewed, poured, repeated. With grace. With care. Her presence was the vessel. She held the space—not by taking up more of it, but by tending to it.
It made me think of team leadership.
So often, team leaders feel they must drive, solve, and push. They may be working hard to coach individual team member at an one-on-one level; or to mediate conflicts between 2 team members. These are valuable, but the team as a unit is not advancing in its collective performance.
Sometimes, the most transformative team leadership looks more like hosting: creating a container, a rhythm, a sense of intention—and then letting the team become more than the sum of its parts.
Where in your leadership might a lighter touch, a slower pour, or a more spacious presence invite something beautiful to emerge?
